If you had Angel Sanchez in your "Who's Going to Get the First Earned Runs off Aroldis Chapman" pool, you're a winner! So are the Astros 5-3.
*We get started with Wandy Rodriguez, who pitched moderately well, and threw one no good, terrible, horrible pitch to Jonny Gomes. Wandy's final line: 6IP, 3H/3ER, 10K:6BB.
*The start runs Wandy's own streak of 18+ outs to 16 games.
*It's Wandy's second straight double-digit K day, and his third in his last six starts. From his July 6 start against Pittsburgh through last night, Wandy's K:BB ratio is 103:26, and he has a 2.10 ERA in those 14 starts.
*But the six walks are the most Wandy has allowed since August 15, 2008 against Arizona - and he managed to achieve that in 2.1IP.
*Of the 108 homers Wandy has allowed, Jonny Gomes' 6th-inning homer was only the 9th three-run shot he has allowed.
*Of the six walks that Wandy allowed, only one ended up scoring. But four of them included four straight balls, one of them after Wandy was up 0-2, and three walked when Wandy was ahead.
*Matt Lindstrom struck again - needing 20 pitches to get three outs, walking one and allowing a hit, after getting two outs. Since his return from the DL, Lindstrom has needed 112 pitches to get 21 outs.
*Here's a wild stat for you: The Astros got nine hits last night. Three of them came courtesy of Michael Bourn, and three came from a pinch-hitter (Keppinger), a pinch-runner/defensive replacement (Bourgeois), and the pitcher (Wandy). Johnson-Wallace-Downs-Castro (5-8 in the lineup) went 0x12, 4K:1BB.
*It was the 7th inning where the Astros broke it open against Aroldis Chapman, whose each and every pitch is highlighted by ESPN. In his first eight appearances (7.2IP), Chapman had allowed 4H/1R (0ER), 11K:2BB, and a .160/.222/.160 slash line against. Yeah, no extra-base hits. So it makes it all the more unlikely that Keppinger would open with a single, Anderson Hernandez would walk, Bourn reached on a bunt single, and Angel Sanchez singled to bring the game-winning runs.
*Of the Astros' nine hits, six were singles, and three were infield singles. The Astros did get doubles out of Wandy and Bourgeois, and Carlos Lee hit his 22nd homer of the season. It's his third homer in September, and Lee has seven hits in his last five games.
*The win gives the Astros their fourth straight month with double-digit wins (10-5 in September). Their 10th win in September so far matches the total number of wins in the entire month of September 2009 (10-17).
*Pitch Count Hero: Brett Wallace (0x3, BB) - 20 pitches in four PAs.
*Pitch Count Punk: Michael Bourn (3x4) - 12 pitches in four PAs.
*Man of the Match: Going with Bourn here, who got on base three times, and was 2x2 w/RISP. From August 1 through today, Bourn has a .378 OBP, and a .438 OBP in September.
*Goat of the Game: Can't decide. Despite the quality start, does it go to Wandy, who walked six batters? You make the call.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
